Forever and Always
by C.Queen
Summary: Angelina knows how boys talk which is why she's stuck seeking out her friend Oliver to ask him just what Fred said about her since she's now dating George. Things go awry from there.


Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all the characters in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that's just the way it's gonna stay forever. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and review!

Forever and Always

Marching up the creaking steps Angelina was a woman on a mission. She had it all planned out in her head and was looking forward to the coming conversation about as much as spending time listening to her grandmother complain about the fact that she wasn't married yet. Unfortunately she wasn't one to back down when something needed to be done and procrastination just drove her crazy. She'd been putting it off far too long as it was and that stopped now. She was going to get the answers she needed from Oliver and that was that. He wasn't going to like it either but that was too bad. She was willing to buy him dinner and that alone should buy her a few measly minutes of his time.

Oh please let it only take a few minutes.

Mentally pushing aside that worry she started reading the room numbers, looking for Oliver's. While she'd been staying with George while her and Oliver's apartment floor was fumigated her friend had wound up at the Leaky Cauldron for the week during the process.

Coming to a stop in front of the correct door Angelina had just raised her fist to knock when her ears were assaulted by the sound of a very loud, very long masculine groan coming through the thin wood.

Blinking in surprise Angelina told herself it was just her imagination even as she placed her ear against the door, concentrating fully on her sense of hearing.

And then she heard Oliver quite audibly yell 'Fuck! You're going to kill me if you don't stop that!'.

Not hesitating now she had her wand in her hand in an instant, using it to unlock the door which she immediately opened with her other hand, slamming it as she all but flew into the room with her wand ready to blast the hell out of whoever was torturing her best male friend.

It took her only a moment to take in the situation, horror crossing her face even as she slapped a hand over her eyes, backing up so rapidly that she accidentally smacked her head into the wall which made her yelp in pain even as she continued to stammer out her apologies and assurances that she really hadn't seen anything.

Uncovering her eyes just enough to see the door Angelina grabbed the handle so that she could close the door behind her, informing them over her shoulder that she wouldn't say anything to anyone and that she was going to go get a stiff drink to help insure that the memories were blurred within the hour.

)

Fifteen minutes later Angelina had an ice pack in one hand and that stiff drink in the other. The former was pressed against the back of her aching head while the other was nearly empty and she couldn't decide whether to get another or head on back to George's. She was leaning towards staying put for the moment if for no other reason than she was fairly sure she wasn't quite up to keeping what she'd seen in Oliver's room to herself and if she blabbed it to her boyfriend he'd tell everyone within the hour.

Though imagining his face if she were to tell him she'd walked in on his older brother having sex with Oliver was pretty funny.

And those mental images were going to be engraved on her brain like acid for the rest of her life, she just knew it. She'd been pretty sure Oliver preferred men and Charlie Weasley had never hid the fact that he went both ways with a marked preference for men as well. So that wasn't new…she'd just never imagined what they'd look like while shagging each other.

Oliver was surprisingly flexible.

Groaning low in her throat over the thought Angelina's sense of self perseveration kept her from leaning forward to knock her head against the wooden table a few times. Her head hurt enough as it was.

"Mind if we join you?"

Looking over Angelina was seriously glad that she couldn't blush as she took in Oliver's embarrassed expression, Charlie looking more amused than anything else at the man's side.

"Sure, why not?"

Both men slid into the seat across from her, ordering drinks for themselves and another for her when a waitress came over immediately to take their orders. That done uncomfortable silence descended for several heartbeats before Oliver cleared his throat.

"How's the head?"

"It's been better but I'm fine." Putting down the ice pack to prove it, and because she felt stupid holding it there now, Angelina did her best to pretend that this wasn't awkward as hell like Charlie was. The redhead was good, she'd give him that.

"Uhm…you…wanted to talk to me about something?" He needed to work up to discussing what she'd seen earlier, Oliver thought as he tried to pretend he wasn't the only one of them blushing like an idiot.

Angelina gave him a darkly amused look. "Yeah, that line of questioning isn't going to change the fact that you didn't tell me you were seeing him, you prat." And turning her gaze to the amused redhead she gave him a pointed look. "And I seem to recall you telling your mum to her face over Easter dinner that you weren't seeing anyone, Mr. Weasley."

Charlie just shrugged and grinned. "I wasn't. Then."

Since the dinner had only been two days ago Angelina gaped for a moment and then laughed, shaking her head at her friend despite the slight pain as she grinned. "Well aren't you both hussies. Really, what would your mums say?"

"They'd both just be glad we were seeing someone." Oliver pointed out, Charlie nodding in tandem with the other man's words. They were both married to their jobs after all and their mothers were constantly despairing over the likelihood that they would die bachelors because of that. At this point even word that their babies were having an affair with someone would be welcome news.

Okay, they had a valid point. And they did look really good together, Angelina acknowledged, thinking to herself that they looked even better when they were naked. Not that she had any intention of voicing that little timbit outloud. She was still horrified to be thinking it.

"So what brought you by?" Oliver asked, deliberately steering the conversation away from the affair he was starting with the sexy redhead he couldn't drag back to bed until he found out why his friend had dropped in to see him. She'd been preoccupied a lot recently and it had been bugging him.

Blowing out a breath Angelina debated with herself as to whether or not she could discuss what she'd come about with Charlie there. He was a gentleman after all, he'd go find another table if she asked him to. But his insights might help too.

"Okay…it's about George. And Fred. Sorta. Are you okay if we talk about him? I'm going to say a couple things that aren't going to be very flattering."

Curiosity flared in the older man's eyes. "I know how fond you were of him so I'm going to assume whatever you're going to say isn't that bad. And even then they probably won't be the worst thing someone's ever said about him. Go ahead, I don't mind. You obviously need to get something off your chest."

Boy did she ever. "I…okay, I'm just going to blurt this all out. The thing is that I need you to tell me something, Oliver, and I know you aren't going to want to and that it's going to embarrass the heck out of you but I have to know."

Since he couldn't imagine being much more embarrassed than he already was Oliver gave her the go ahead to ask her question.

"I know how guys talk, I've always been the gal pal type and plenty of times you and other guys have forgotten I'm a girl and started talking the way you do amongst yourselves and…so I know how you talk about women sometimes. I know how you like to brag and tell stories and I was wondering…I need you to tell me what Fred said about me to you guys so that I know what he told George. There wasn't really anything to tell but I don't know if George knows that and I need to know if I need to say anything to him and if I do how to say it without calling Fred a liar or casting him in a bad light for being a typical teenage boy."

Silence descended, both men thinking over her words. They knew she had a very valid point on a number of levels; they didn't even want to think about what their mums would do to them if they'd overheard some of the conversations they'd had with other men about a variety of colorful topics.

"I can't help you, Angel, sorry." And seeing the look in her eyes Oliver held up his hands in a defensive manner. "You, Katie and Alicia were my teammates, I never stood for any bloke talking about you girls like you were just pieces of ass. Fred knew that. I knew you two went out for a bit but I never heard any details and preferred it that way."

Angelina processed this with warm affection for Oliver in her eyes. He really had looked out for 'his girls' while they'd been at school together. He'd wanted them to be at their best so he could get his bloody cup after all.

"George and Fred were usually like one body with two heads." Charlie said softly, drawing their attention to him. "They could read each other like a book unless one was really trying hard to hide something and even then there was a good chance the other would figure it out. Whatever Fred said about you, I'd imagine George had a pretty good idea what was fact and what was fiction. Plus Fred really did like you a lot, I don't think he'd have exaggerated much out of respect." A knowing look came into the redhead's eyes. "Not to mention he was smart enough to know what you'd do to him if word got back to you if he got out of line."

"That's true." She would have beaten him bloody. "So you don't think I need to say anything to George about it?"

"From the way he watched you over dinner he knows something's up. And knowing how he is now it would probably be best if you just told him what's been on your mind so that he doesn't build it up into something worse." His younger brother had become a lot more cynical after the war.

"But how do I say it?" Because she was seriously at a loss, Angelina silently bemoaned as she accepted her drink from the waitress, draining half of it in one go.

Charlie waited until the waitress had served their drinks and left before continuing the conversation. "By being as bluntly honest with him as you're being now. We men prefer it that way. Just tell him that you've been worried that he might think you'd done more with Fred than a little snogging and such and didn't know how to ask him because you were too embarrassed. You don't need to mention you know how we men talk and brag, just say you want to clear the air because you want him to know that it wasn't serious between you and Fred, and that you're very serious about him."

Angelina looked from Charlie to Oliver, feeling a lot better even with the headache. "Lucky you, to land a guy who actually has something resembling emotional maturity." Teasingly she reached over to lightly punch Oliver in the shoulder. "Congrats. There are so few of them."

Neither Angelina nor Charlie missed how hard Oliver was trying not to show how pleased he was by her statement.

And that was her signal to head out. Getting to her feet Angelina waved off their refusals as she laid out enough money to pay for all their drinks. It was the least she could do after all.

"Okay, I'm going to go talk to George right now. Thanks for the pep talk, both of you. And sorry again for…interrupting your evening. I'll be sure to knock next time."

"That would be for the best." Charlie drawled out with a grin as he smiled up at the man who'd been keeping him very busy the last couple of days, giving his lover's thigh a covert squeeze under the table.

Yup, definitely time for her to head out, Angelina thought as she left the two to their smoldering looks, having no doubt that as soon as they realized she'd left they'd be heading back upstairs.

)

Picking up some take out on her way Angelina used the spare key George had given her to let herself into her boyfriend's shop, heading for the back staircase that led up to her man's flat above. Though the space was unfortunately used for experimenting too, which was why when she opened the door leading into the living area Angelina remained in the doorway as she called out for confirmation that it was safe to enter the premise without fear for her wellbeing.

When no response came she decided to risk it, keeping a wary eye out as she made her way into the kitchen, not surprised to find George there and so absorbed in what he was doing that he hadn't heard her at all.

He didn't even look up from his work until she set the take out containers on the table, the tantalizing scents startling him into awareness. "Oh, hey. I thought you said you were going somewhere tonight."

"I was going to have dinner with Oliver but he was hanging out with Charlie and I didn't want to be a third wheel."

"Can't say as I blame you, they'll probably do nothing but talk Quidditch all night long." Shaking his head over the thought George felt sorry for his older brother. Charlie liked Quidditch, but once Oliver got going it was pretty much impossible to get a word in. "So what did you bring us for supper, I'm starving."

"Chinese." In the process of collecting plates and cutlery since neither of them was good with chopsticks, Angelina recalled what Charlie had said before, about George being aware that something was up with her. They'd both eat better if she got everything off her chest first, and the food would keep a while longer.

So after she set the items down on the table Angelina surprised George by pulling his chair away from the table, taking a seat in his lap before he could even ask her what she was up to. Not that he minded of course, he'd rather enjoy her then food any day.

They could always heat up the food later anyway, he thought with a mischievous grin as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her in place.

"There's something I want to tell you before we eat." Angelina announced, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep him that much closer. "And it's probably stupid and just me being a girl, but I have to say it anyway or it's going to drive me batty."

His mother and sister had trained him too well for George to even think about guessing as to what she thought they needed to talk about. Guessing too often opened up new issues and caused a snowball effect that could bury a man alive if he wasn't careful.

"Okay, what's up?"

"I want you to know that I…ugh, let me remember how I'm supposed to put this." It was just so embarrassing. "I want you to know that what I feel for you is so much more than anything I've ever felt for anyone else. I was always the girl guys were just friends with and to be truthful one of the main reasons I said yes when Fred asked me to the Yule Ball when we were younger was because I was just so thrilled to be asked by someone at all. And most guys since then have been like Fred, guys I've been good friends with who decided to ask me out only to figure out after a few kisses that they couldn't think of me romantically. What kisses we exchanged…well let's just say there were no fireworks there and leave it at that. But you do and I…I'm so glad you created that stupid guppy potion and accidentally clued me into the fact that you were interested in me. We make fireworks that put your Weasley products to shame, and I hope we always do."

And too mortified by her girlie behavior and words to hold his gaze a moment longer Angelina buried her face against his neck, muttering loud enough for him to hear that she hoped NEVER to have to say such things again aloud.

"I love you."

Jerking with shock Angelina nearly whacked him with her head in her haste to straighten so that she could look him in the eye, only his arms keeping her from falling out of his lap. "What…what did you say?"

"I…I wanted to ask you to the ball but I was too…it's always been you. You bring color and light…bring fireworks into my life just by being a part of it." Cheeks flushed with color George rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he choked out the words a second time. "I love you, Angelina. And I hope we always do too."

Tearing up in spite of herself Angelina nodded, grinning so widely she was surprised it didn't split her face. "I love you too, George Weasley. More than anyone or anything."

Sitting up George was grinning just as widely as he got to his feet and held her in his arms, spinning them around in an impromptu circle, sheer joy on his face before it was covered as she placed her lips over his, sealing their unspoken deal to always be the other's light in the sky.

Forever and Always.


End file.
